Do You Have a Moral Obligation to Follow the Law Even If the Law Is Bad?

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There is a fierce debate surrounding the question whether it is the moral duty of citizens to obey laws even when they are bad. People take is for granted that a majority of the populace in the society we live in adhere to set laws. People are obliged to abide by the established laws, whether good or bad, due to moral or prudential reasons. According to the theory of prudential reasons, people abide by the set laws due to self-interest. In this regard, most people are pushed to abide by the laws of the land as a result of fear of consequences such as punishment and becoming a social outcast. There is no debate concerning the prudential reason theory. This implies that members of the society abide by legal rules for various reasons other than a moral obligation. Nonetheless, this does not imply that there should not be the moral obligation to abide by the laws of the society. There is no reason that exceeds the weight of the society’s obligation to obey the law. Therefore, we all have a moral obligation to abide by set laws. If the society allows the moral duty to follow legal rules to be overridden by other factors, there would be increased cases of disregard of the general law. Each and every law established by a given society has a valid justification. As a result, every law has a moral basis upon which people should reflect on. This way, they will be morally complied to obey the law since the set laws have moral justifications. Thus, the duty to abide by legal rules is outweighed by a heavier moral obligation. Moral obligation is founded on four issues. These are fair play, common good, gratitude and consent. I believe that we are morally obliged to abide by legal rules, whether good or bad, because they apply to the entire populace. Therefore, failure to abide by some laws amounts to foul play. The legal and political systems make laws that

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